


In The Language Of Love

by KuroBakura



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Artist Kim Minseok | Xiumin, British English, England (Country), Escape, Explicit Sexual Content, Foreign Language, Gay Male Character, Gay Rights, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Older Man/Younger Man, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rich Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Secret Crush, Victorian Attitudes, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:02:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuroBakura/pseuds/KuroBakura
Summary: It is the Victorian era in England. Adney Corbyn is a famous writer in England and artist to not just in England but in France and a few other countries, too. But...Adney hides a huge secret about himself. And that secret is that Adney is a homosexual. And being homosexual is not only easy but...it can also be criminal if anyone found out about it, too. One day, he meets a man named Minseok, who suddenly takes over his life. Not just as a muse but also his heart, too. Minseok is a man who escaped from Korea to have a better life and is now a scholar of the arts in London.The two men begin to form a strong bond with one another.Will Adney and Minseok be able to live in peace or will they have to leave their life behind to be happy?





	In The Language Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adney makes a stop into his favorite bookshop and meets a young man who has taken his interest.

Adney walked down the streets of London. Even if it was a bit gloomy outside, it was still a crisp and cool fall morning. Adney is the youngest son of Augustus and Edith Corbyn, who are one of the most prolific and richest families in not just London but in  _ all  _ of England, too. He also has three brothers as well that are older than him. Percy, Bram and James are all craftsmen and blacksmiths and very good at what they do as well. His father also owns a huge business which all of his brothers are a part of, too. Adney is the only one who does not want to be a part of the family business in any way.

No. Adney’s passion is art and writing. He is the most creative one of the brothers and quite a rebel, too. Surprisingly, Adney’s works are very popular. Both writing and painting. It has also made him quite a lot of money. Even with his family’s money, Adney was basically well off. But unlike his father, Andey was not a snob or a stuck up person. That is one of the reasons that Adney did not want to work with his father or in his business. He can not stand his father. And that is why their relationship is estranged between the two of them.

Adney suddenly stopped in front of a book store and went inside of it. Booksellers were one of Adney’s most favorite places to be in all of London. He loved the smell of the shop, too. The owner of the bookseller noticed Adney and gave him a smile.

“Good morning, Mr. Adney!” The bookseller owner piped up to him. Adney smiled back and nodded at him. Also, he has made it quite clear with people that he doesn't like being called “Mr. Corbyn” because it makes him think of his father.   
  
“Good morning to you as well, Mr. Hughes. Do you have any new books since I have last been here?” Mr. Adney said back and asked him a question.

“Not at the moment that I can think of but I should next week. But still, please look around!” Mr. Hughes replied to him. Adney was still going to look around the shop, regardless if he had new stock in or not. Adney started walking again as he began to look around the shop. As Adney made his way around the shop, more customers began to come into the shop. At the moment, he was in the romance section.

As much as he loves the genre, he found it quite boring at the same time. If the story is good, he will read it, no matter what but still...Adney wants something different when it comes to romance novels.

“I wish that England could be more open of homosexuality. There is nothing wrong with someone loving the same gender as they are.” Adney thought to himself. That was another thing for why he never wanted to work or be around his father. Adney, himself, is a homosexual and he defientely knew that his father would disown him if he finds out. Not that he cares but...most of England might.

Which also may cause him to be single for the rest of his life. ...Or have to have to keep his relationship a secret for the rest of his life, too. Though...there are two people who know of his homosexuality. But  _ only _ two people. All of a sudden, Andey noticed a sharply dressed man from the corner of his eye coming into the bookseller. Adney’s eyes widened and blushed as he caught a glimpse of him. Mr. Hughes looked at the man with a smile on his face.   
  
“Hello, Mr. Kim! What can I do for you today?” Mr. Hughes exclaimed and asked him. Mr. Kim is the only man in London who comes from Korea. There are some men from Japan in England but Mr. Kim was the only one who came from a different Asian country. Mr. Kim is also a very rich man like Adney. People tend to just call him Mr. Kim, though, but he does have a name as well. 

Mr. Kim looked at Mr. Hughes. 

“I was curious if you had any recommendations for a certain genre.” Mr. Kim replied to Mr. Hughes.

“What kind of genre are you looking for exactly?” Mr. Hughes asked him another question. Mr. Kim blushed as he started to feel a little nervous.   
  
“ _ Romance _ .” Mr. Kim answered. Adney looked at the shelf in front of him and grabbed a couple of books from the shelf that was searching for and walked over to them. The two of them looked at Adney.   
  
“I do not mean to interrupt both of you or anything but I heard that you were looking for romance recommendations and I wanted to personally recommend by choices. If that is okay.” Adney said to them. Mr. Hughes nodded. Mr. Kim was still blushing as he looked at Adney.

“You would not happen to be Adney Corbyn, would you?” Mr. Kim suddenly asked him. Adney nodded.   
  
“Yes, I am.” Adney replied to him. Mr. Kim smiled. Adney’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the man smile at him.   
  
“I am such a fan of yours! I have all your books and I own a couple of your paintings as well! You are truly talented.” Mr. Kim exclaimed happily. Adney felt so warm and fuzzy inside but happy at the same time.

“Thank you. I feel honored.” Adney said back to him. Mr. Hughes watched the two of them speak to one another. 

“By the way, what kind of work do you do, Mr. Kim?” Adney asked Mr. Kim.   
  
“I am a scholar in the arts.” Mr. Kim answered back. Adney blushed even more.

“Oh! That’s amazing!” Adney exclaimed back. He suddenly got an idea inside of his head.

“...Would you like to have a drink together sometime? We can talk about the arts and I could even sign a copy or two of your books for you if you would like. I will give you my address as well.” Adney suggested and invited him to his home. The smile on Mr. Kim’s face suddenly became a little bigger.   
  
“I would love that! Also...I definitely would love to check out your romance recommendations. Thank you!” Mr. Kim replied and said to him, accepting the invitation to Adney’s home for a drink. Though, in a way, Adney would love to get to know him more than just speaking about the arts to him. He handed the books over to Mr. Kim. Mr Kim paid for his books while Adney wrote down his address for Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim thanked Adney once again and then left the store.   
  
Adney watched him walk past the window until he could not see him any more. Mr. Hughes looked at Adney, with a smirk on his face.   
  
“You have a thing for the man, don’t you?” Mr. Hughes suddenly asked him. Adney heard him and looked at the man while blushing.   
  
“What? N-no! I mean, I just…” Adney’s voice trailed off as he looked at the ground, feeling embarrassed. Mr. Hughes gave a couple of chuckles before he spoke to Adney again.

“My dear boy. I may be old in age but I still have very good hearing  _ and _ vision. It is quite obvious that you are attracted to him. Am I correct?” Mr. Hughes spoke and then asked him. Adney could not speak a word but gave a nod to Mr. Hughes before looking back up at him.   
  
“Y-yes. I mean, he is attractive but...I do not know a lot about him. I have seen him around London, though.” Adney answered and explained to him. Maybe with this get together, Adney will get to know the scholar more. Mr. Kim seems like a nice man but that does not mean that he is. And Adney will only know what Mr. Kim truly is as a person until he finds out more about him. Until then, all he could do was think about him.

Mr. Hughes was not only a very kind man but a very accepting one, too. He came from behind his desk and walked over to Adney. Not to mention that he has known Adney and his family for many, many years. Since Adney and his brothers were babies. Mr. Hughes suddenly placed one of his hands onto one of Adney’s shoulders as they looked at each other face to face.

“Adney, you know that I am not the type of person who would disown you for being who you are. All I want for you is to be happy. But also...I want you to be careful as well. I am just looking out for you but also want you to be able to have someone who cares and loves you for you as well, regardless. But remember this...there is nothing wrong with homosexuality but there is something wrong with ignorance. People may be against but there are people out there who will always have your back. And I am one of them. You have always been like family to. I just wanted to let you know that.” Mr. Hughes said to him. 

That made Adney feel good on the inside. He nodded back at Mr. Hughes with a smile on his face. 

“Thank you, Mr. Hughes. That means a lot to me.” Adney said to him. Mr. HUghes nodded back as well.   
  
“You are welcome, Adney. And I meant every word I said.” Mr. Hughes said back to him.   
  
“I know you do.” Adney told him. Adney spent a little more time in the bookshop before heading back to his home. As Adney took a couple of steps inside of his home, he heard his telephone ring. Adney rushed over to his desk and picked it up.   
  
“Hello?” Adney spoke into the phone.   
  
“Ah, Adney! It’s Mae! I just wanted to let you know that your paints and pencils have arrived and ready to be picked up whenever you want!” A voice said to him from the other side of the phone. Miss Davies is the only shop owner in London who caters to the artists and writers in London, which is also family owned as well but her family is much kinder than Adney’s. Mae is not only just Adney’s age but also is the only other person who knows about Adney’s homosexuality as well. They even walked to school together in the mornings and then home with each other after school let out as well.    
  
Mae and Adney’s family thought they would end up together but it just was not to be. But they have remained the best of friends. And very good ones, too. Adney smiled.   
  
“Thank you for letting me know! I will pick them up tomorrow in the morning. Not sure what time exactly but it will be in the morning and no later than 12 in the afternoon.” Adney said back to her.   
  
“No problem! By the way, how have you been? It has been quite a while since we last saw each other.” Mae said and asked him.   
  
“I am doing fine. I have been working on a new novel. I had to go out today to the bookshop but I ended up forgetting to get what I went for in the first place.” Adney replied to her. But in a way, even though this is true, deep down, Adney felt like he did leave the bookshop with more than he originally came for. He was not going to get into detail about it. Not at this moment at a least.

“I understand. Anyway, I just thought I let you know about your order. I have to get back to the store. A customer just walked but you have a great day!” Mae told him.   
  
“You as well. By, Mae.” Adney said to her. Mae said goodbye to him as well then both of them hung up their phones. Adney took a deep breath as he went to his writing desk. He still had Mr. Kim on his mind. It was not a bad thing, though. But...it did make it less easy to be able to work on his novel.

“This is going to be a long day.” Adney said to himself. For a few hours, Adney wrote as much as he could before finally deciding to take a break. The break ended up being the rest of his day, though. 

Later that night, Adney was getting ready for bed. As he was buttoning up his nightshirt, he heard commotion going on outside of his bedroom window. He took a peak outside of it to see a group of men just playing around. They seemed a bit drunk, too. They only stayed there for a few minutes but it was enough to annoy Adney. It was a few of his ex-schoolmates. And he  _ hated  _ them. They always teased and bullied him for being different than most of the other boys in the school. But their teasing and bullying only not made him stronger but become successful as well. 

Adney never once wanted to quit because of it. It only made him want to work harder to achieve his dreams. And achieved them he  _ did _ . Adney shut his window and went over to his bed. He got into it and got comfortable before finally drifting off to sleep for the rest of the night.


End file.
